What If?
by goldribbon
Summary: What if everything known to Tree hill wasn't? What if Nathan's best friend Brooke wasn't miss popular? What if Lucas, the Jock of the school, was dating the dark Haley James? What if the preppy Peyton Sawyer had feelings for Brooke's twin Brother Riley?
1. The Way We Are

**What if?**

**Chapter One: The Way We Are**

_By: Nowaytonowhere_

**Summery: What if everything known to Tree hill _wasn't_****? What if Brooke is not miss popular? What if Lucas, the biggest Jock of the school, was dating the dark Haley James? What if Brooke had a twin Brother Riley, and is best friends with Nathan?**

**Of course, getting all these characters together there's going to be drama. And lots of it.**

**Author's Note: So, I haven't wrote a FF in awhile! I'm aware that I haven't updated my other story... in almost a year, but I had a writer's block and never updated, so maybe, I'll update it after I finish this. I actually got the idea for this story last year, and i just found it, and I felt like continuing on it... so I guess that's what this is. Before you read this, you might wanna read this. (Its basically like the summery with a few extra details that might clarify a few things up!)**

**Brooke, is not miss popular. She's a lot like how Haley was in season one. Brooke's best friends with Nathan, who's also a lot of a loner. Brooke, has a twin brother Riley, who also doesn't have that high of a social status. She also has 2 little sisters-Michelle, who's 13 and in 8th grade, who's basically like the way brattier version of how Brooke is on the actual show. Then there's Holly, who's 8, and Reese who's 5. **

**Lucas, is the popular guy, who is dating the dark,(well, not dark, but kind of like the way Peyton was in season one.) bitchy, popular, Haley James who expresses her emotions through her music. Peyton is best friends with Haley, but is a bit more on the nice side.**

**Oh! And Nathan and Lucas are not related, they just happen to have the same last name.**

**I hope you enjoy chapter one!**

Brooke and Nathan were walking down the street talking to one another, engaged into a very deep conversation. Maybe thats why it hit Brooke as such a surprise when all of the sudden she tripped on her shoes and landed on the ground.

"Ouchhh." Brooke groaned as she got up.

Nathan couldn't help but laugh. "Are you okay?" He asked her, still laughing.

"Shut up!" Brooke yelled, trying to keep a straight face, and stuck her tongue out at him, and walked away, so he wouldn't see the huge smile that was plastered on to her face.

"Oh, c'mon Brooke! Don't get mad!"

Brooke said nothing, and kept smiling to her self, while she walked even further away from her best friend.

"Hey! Wait up!" Nathan said trying to catch up to her. Brooke tried to run away from him. This was almost starting to turn into a game of 'tag'. "You know, if you run to fast you're going to trip again." Nathan said grinning.

Brooke finally took a break, and sat down on the grass next to the sidewalk. Nathan took a seat next to her. "So why exactly _are_ you wearing Riley's shoes?" Nathan asked her.

"I wore mine out, well, er... according to my mom, anyway...but, personally, i don't really mind having a few holes here and there."

"Well, if she cares so much, why doesn't she just buy you a new pair?"

"Because that would mean that either she would have to take me to the mall, or, she'd give me money to go buy new shoes, and either way, I'd end up having to go to the shopping, which you know I don't want to do. And on top of that I would have to take Michelle with me and if Michelle wants to go than of course Holly's gonna want to go and-"

"Okay, I got it." Nathan said interrupting Brooke. "Your family is _way_ too big."

"Welcome to my world."

**xxxx**

"Hey baby!" Haley said as she walked up to her boyfriend. She grabbed his shirt and started to kiss him. Lucas pulled away and smiled. "Don't bother changing after practice. You're coming to my house." Haley said seductively.

"I can't. I gotta go to the tutoring center."

"Since when do you tutor people?"

"Do you seriously think that Lucas Scott is smart enough to tutor someone?" Peyton said cutting into the two's conversation.

Lucas shot Peyton a look. "Obviously, someone _else_ gonna tutor _me_."

"Who?" Haley asked.

"Some girl." Lucas said as he searched for the piece of paper that he had written her name on. "Brooke Davis?"

"Never heard of her." Peyton said.

"Neither have I."

"Yeah, well. She's probably just some ugly, nerdy girl with no life" Haley spat and walked away.

"What was that about?" Peyton asked Lucas.

"She's probably just jealous."

"Of some girl that we've never even heard of, thats supposedly nerdy, ugly, and has no life?"

"Thats Haley James for you."

**xxxx**

Lucas had been searching for Brooke in the tutoring center for a good 20 minutes. He had no idea who she was or anyone else who was there. He was was about to leave but he over heard a conversation.

"Hey Riley, will you pick me up after I'm done here?" Brooke asked her twin brother after she spotted him walking down the hall.

"Yeah, sure. What time?"

"6ish."

"I'll be there."

"Thanks, Riley."

"No problem, Brooke."

He did say Brooke, didn't he? Lucas thought to himself. And even if he did say Brooke, Brooke was a common name...

Lucas walked up to the desk Brooke was sitting in and asked, "Are you Brooke Davis?"

She looked up from the paper she was working on and said, "Yeah, thats me."

"Well, according to this piece of paper," Lucas held up the paper. "you're my tutor."

"Okay, have a seat." Brooke said while stacking her papers into a neat pile. "So, uh, I didn't catch your name."

Lucas looked at her in disbelief. How could she not know who he was? He was Lucas Scott. _The_ Lucas Scott.

"Oh, uh, I'm Lucas. Lucas Scott." He said and stuck out his hand.

"Nice to meet you." She said and shook his hand.

"Yeah, uh, same here."

**xxxx**

Brooke and Nathan entered the Davis household. There was an instant noise of screaming kids, from every which direction.

"Thank god you're home Brooke. I need you to watch Holly, Reese, and their friends. I have to run out to the store." Brooke's mom, Kate, said exasperated.

Brooke sighed. "For how long?"

"About 45 minutes." Kate said grabbing her purse and heading towards the door. "Love you." She kissed her daughter's cheek and fled out the door.

"Yeah, yeah."

Nathan followed Kate's lead and opened the door to leave, but Brooke stopped him. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"Nathan, please?" Brooke asked desperately.

"Noway."

"But Nate! They like you! They _actually_ like you! You even said you liked them too!"

"I do like them... but they have friends over too. Thats them times 20! They're already noisy as it is!"

"Nate, please! ...don't leave me here alone." Brooke asked, with her 'puppy dog' face on.

Nathan sighed. "Fine, but you owe me!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!" Brooke said, jumping up and down. "I love you!!!"

"You should."

The two walked into the living room, where the kids where playing. It was horrifying. Reese and two of his friends were jumping up and down on the couch, screaming, while Holly and the three of her friends were playing dress up and running around.

'_Why on earth does mom let them invite so many people over at once?!_' Brooke screamed in her mind.

Brooke clapped her hands and raised her voice in attempt to get everyone's attention. No such luck. "Everybody...please just listen..." Brooke strained.

Nathan watched, as his friend tried to get everything under control. After Brooke had given up, he decided to give it a shot. He went into the kitchen, grabbed a pot and a pan and went back into the living room. He banged the two together and yelled, "Everyone listen up!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and gave him their full attention. Brooke looked at him in amazement. "Okay, will all you guys just quiet down?" Nathan asked... What else was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to discipline them? Nathan hesitated ."Uh, you can take it from here." He whispered to Brooke.

"Will all of you guys just _please_ try not be so loud? Nathan and I are trying to-"

Michelle stomped into the living room and interrupted her older sister. "What she's trying to say is that if you guys don't shut the hell up she's gonna kick all of your scrawny little ass' out of the door."

Reese, and both his and holly's friends looked at her in shock. And even though Michelle yelling like that still caught Holly by surprise, she finally got over the fact that her sister was no saint. Brooke and Nathan were, of course, expecting that of her, if not more. They knew her well enough to know that she speaks exactly what is on her mind no matter what it is. But Reese, not to mention both his and holly's friends, were still grasping the concept and still looked at her in shock every time she yelled at them. How naive.

"She said a bad word." One of Reese's friends whispered, but Michelle, of course, being Michelle, heard.

"No shit sherlock." She spat. "Now, if I hear you guys again...you don't even want to know." And with that, she turned around, stomped up to her room and slammed the door.

The whole room was instantly overwhelmed in silence. Nathan and Brooke walked over to the couch.

"I'm surprised she hadn't done that sooner." Nathan said.

"Tell me about it."

They had a conversation, and eventually, the others joined in, but making plenty sure that they didn't make too much noise.

After a while, Kate had come back from the store, and all the kids parent's came to pick them up, except for eva, who was staying for dinner.

**xxxx**

As Nathan walked home, which is only a block down the street, he thought about how weird it was that Brooke and Michelle sisters. You would never know based on the way they act and their personalitys. Sure, Brooke and Michelle looked a lot alike but they were two very different people. Michelle liked to flaunt everything she could, well, at least everything a 13 year old could anyway, while Brooke tried to hide her curves underneath sweaters. Brooke wore almost no make up at all while Michelle had been wearing make up since she was 9 years old. Michelle doesn't do well in school but, of course, has a very high social status, while her older sister is a straight A honor student but is barley known around her fellow classmates.

But this is who they were, the davis sisters, wether they wanted to be or not.

**Just a reminder, please read and review! I write these stories for all you guys and I would like to know what you're all thinking! Good, bad, suggestions, questions, or anything else you have in mind. Just please review! Thanks!**


	2. I Should Have Known

**What if?**

Chapter Two: I Should Have Known.

By Nowaytonowhere

**Now, that i've read over chapter one after actually being up, i can see all the flaws in the story, and all the places i messed up. Of course, after i put it up, I'm going to see what i should have fixed, and not before, during the many times i read it over. I realized, that I jumped between Brooke being with Lucas at the tutoring center, to Brooke being at home with Nathan, and I'm sorry for not writing that out better and making a smooth transition. I was going to have it be the next day when Brooke was with Nathan, but of course, me being who i am, didn't. So sorry about that, and leaving out, or leaving in for that matter, a word here and there that wasn't supposed to be. **

**Okay, also, if anyone was wondering, the couples i plan on having are(this might change by the way) NP, BL, RH. I might end up changing it sometime to BN, just because I LOVE them so much, and I have the best time writing about them, but if it doesn't fit into the story, I don't want to push it. But i am definitely going to have a really strong bond of friendship between them, so there's at least something!!! **

A loud buzzing noise rang through the halls of Tree Hill High. Third period. 'Great" Brooke thought to her self.

Of course, that thursday, of all days, the bell was broken, and during each passing period, the bell rang for 5 minutes straight. And of course, that thursday, of all days, Brooke's head was killing her. Each second of the bell ringing felt like someone was hitting her in the back of the head with a sledge hammer. Now, the smart thing that Brooke could have done was taken an advil, but when Brooke went to the medicine cabinet to get the bottle that morning, which should have been a simple task, wasn't. Nothing is simple in the Davis household.

Brooke had over slept that particular morning, and when she awoke, she found her self with a monstrous headache. "Ughh." Brooke groaned, and dragged her self out of bed, and made her way to the bathroom. As she entered the bathroom, she found Reese sprawled across the the navy blue rug, which lay in the center of the room.

"Oh, my god! Reese!" Brooke crouched down next to him and held him in her lap. "Are you okay? What happened?!"

"...I don't feel too good." He said, holding his stomach."

"I can see that. Just... what happened?!" He didn't reply. Brooke felt his forehead, and looked around the room for clues, and found an empty bottle of advil. "Oh, god. Did you take all of these?!"

"There wasn't very many in there." He moaned.

"How many did you take?"

"Five, I think."

At the same time, Riley was getting ready for school, and was making his way downstairs, and passed by the bathroom. He stuck his head into the room to see what all the commotion was about. He then saw Reese half on the rug, and half on Brooke's lap.

"Wow, what happened?"

"This." Brooke said and threw him the bottle.

"He doesn't look so good. How many did he take??"

"He said about five, but I'm not-" Brooke was cut off by Reese throwing up a mixture of the bacon, eggs, and toast he had just had for his breakfast, with the occasional blue bits here and there from the pills. And where exactly did little Reese throw up? Why, on his older sister's lap, and partially on her chest too. And, as disgusted, and aggravated Brooke was by this, it didn't come to her as a surprise at all. After all, this was the Davis house.

However, Riley couldn't help but find this extremely funny, and as hard as he tried to hide his laughter, Brooke could see right through it.

Brooke shot Riley a look of deep hatred. "Take him," Brooke said in a angry tone and stood up. "_now_."

xxxx

Even though Brooke had over slept, and was late for school that morning, Lucas, was not. Lucas had actually been early -- an hour early.

The entire morning, Lucas had looked everywhere for Brooke in the tutoring center, but she was no where to be found. He had actually gotten up at 6 o'clock, and showed up at school at 7:30,(which should have given him a good hour for their tutoring session) for nothing. Eventually, it did hit him that Brooke wasn't there, but no one he knew, or anyone he had any intension to talk to, was there that early, so he decided to keep looking for her just to have something to do. Except, there was one person he knew... Haley. However, even though she was there, _he_ didn't know it. But even if he did know she was there, he probably would have no intention of approaching her, and would have tried to avoid her.

Haley, had not always been the way she is now. At first, Lucas really did like Haley; she was completely down to earth, and unique -- she was like no one else he knew. She was just Haley, and he loved that. But then, last year, when Haley was 15, her and her little sister Ryan, decided to go for a drive. She had just finished driver's ed, and didn't think that it would be such a big deal to drive around her neighborhood. After all, Tree Hill was a safe town, and rarely did you see anyone speeding down the street. So, naturally, Haley thought it was safe, and so did Ryan, having complete faith and trust in her sister.

So Haley and Ryan got into the front of their parent's Hybrid, while Dave and Norah, their parents, were away at Norah's Mother's house, being and taking care of her(with a nurse there too, of course) during her last few days. So, with no one there telling the girls what not to do, the two girls both buckled up, and were off. They drove around the neighborhood for awhile, and since everything was going so well, they decided to go drive down the free way. Being where they live, not very many people drove on the freeway, especially at night, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to just get the feel of the car. Meaning, more than just a few blocks around their house. So, they got on the freeway, and sped down the road for miles, listening to the radio, and singing their hearts outs. Everything was going great; the two sisters were having such a great time. However, that wasn't the case for much longer. Haley hadn't been paying attention to the road, and they hit a pot hole in the road. Taken aback by surprise, the car swerved into the other lane, and the big, bright headlights of a truck came before them. Out of panic, Haley quickly jerked the steering wheel in the other direction, in attempt to taking the car back into the other lane safely. However, the car span out of control, and Haley couldn't control it. The car swerved half way off the road and slammed into the poll the call box was on.

The following week, there was a funeral held for Ryan Sylvia James. It was a huge ceremony; at least half of the town showed up. Being Haley's sister meant being known at Tree Hill High, as well as her own school, which was filled with students from kindergarden, all the way to the eighth grade. And being the most kind hearted girl you would ever meet, which Ryan was, she was friends with everyone; no matter what their age. Everyone was there. Everyone, that is, except for Haley.

Haley couldn't bring her self to it. It was _her_ fault that her sister died. It was _her_ fault that her sister would never finish the 8th grade. It was _her_ fault that her parents had to rush over to the hospital that night, and Norah couldn't be with her mother when she passed away. Hell, it was probably _her_ fault that her grandmother died too. But, all that didn't bother her as much as the fact that _she_ had _killed_ her little sister. She was the older sister; _she_ was supposed to protect Ryan. She loved her with all her heart. They weren't the type of sisters that hated each other, and couldn't bare even to spend one second together. They were the picture perfect sisters. They loved each other. They were the type of sisters that you would look at, and instantly envy, and wish you had that relationship with your sibling. They were Haley and Ryan, Ryan and Haley. They were best friends.

Ever since, Haley's never been the same. She's the complete opposite of what she used to be. She was the girl everyone used to love -- she was the sweetest girl you'd ever meet. Now, she's the girl you'd have to love. She built her self to be the popular bitch, and thats what she is. Now, everyone loves her for a completely different reason. And everyone, meant all the other popular bitches and jocks. But to her, thats everyone that mattered. Lucas just figured that was her way of grieving. He thought that maybe if she was the way she used to be, that would remind her self too much of everything that happened. And she would have realized, that that year, Ryan would have walked the halls of Tree Hill High with her as a freshmen. But, because of her, She would never do that.

Lucas had tried many times to talk to Haley about what happened, but she would never let anyone in, and would always immediately change the subject. He worried so much about her, because he knew that she blamed her self. But it wasn't her fault.

**Read and review please!! Good, bad? Just let me know!!! And, please give me any suggestions if you have any! I'd love to know what you guys think!**

**- yachelle. **


	3. Advil and PomPoms

**What if?**

**Chapter Three: Advil and Pom-Poms.**

_By: Nowaytonowhere_

As Brooke tried to block out the sound of the never ending bell out of her head on her way out of third period, she realized that she left her math book in her desk. Being aware that she wouldn't be able to get it after lunch, (seeing that if she did, she'd have to race all the way across to the other side of the school to get to to gym) she spun around on her left foot, in attempt to make her way back to math to get her book. However, instead, she found herself, a bunch of books, and a binder knocked on the floor.

"God dammit. What the hell is your problem?!" Brooke looked up, and found herself being yelled at by none other than Haley James, who of course, was accompanied by Lucas too. "Seriously. Your really need to watch where you're going!"

Now, having been knocked on the floor and hitting her head against a locker because of it, not to mention having the annoying sound of Haley yelling at her on top of it, seemed to have made Brooke's head hurt worse. She held her head with her left hand, and started to pick up Haley's stuff with the right. "I'm so sorry, it's just-"

"Don't be." Lucas cut in. "Haley, you seriously just need to chill. It was an accident." Lucas said, and gave Brooke a hand to help her up. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But, really, I'm so sorry. Its just that i have a huge headache and i didn't see you..."

"Then maybe you should have taken an advil or something then." Haley snapped.

"Well, its just that this morning my brother kinda, sorta..." Brooke trailed off. "Sorry, I'm sure you guys can care less, but long story short, we're out."

"Like you said, we could care less." Haley said, and wrapped her arm around Lucas'. "Come on Luke, lets go."

"Hey, well, I think I've got some aspirin in my locker. It might not work as well as advil, but hey, it can help."

"But Luke!" Haley wined.

Lucas looked around the hall to find someone to dump Haley off on, and spotted Peyton on her way outside. "Babe, look! There's Peyton." Lucas said, and pointed at her. "Peyton!" Lucas yelled to her. She stopped, and looked back to see Lucas, Haley, and some dorky looking girl... with really bad shoes.

'Oh, _**that**_must be Luke's tutor' Peyton thought to herself, and stopped to wait for Haley. Peyton decided to take this time to examine Brooke. '_What's wrong with her hair... no one who wants to empress anyone wears their hair in a ponytail. And what's with her sweater?_' Peyton thought on. '_Let's show at least a little cleavage! I mean come on!_...' Her mind trailed.

"See, she was probably looking for you anyway." Lucas pleaded to Haley.

Haley faked a smile. "Oh, goodie. I hope you two just have a ball." She said, her words dripping with sarcasm, and switched her way toward Peyton, to let him know what he's missing.

**xxxx**

"Oh, my god! What's taking them so long?"

"Haley, just-"

"No, seriously, think about it Peyt! It doesn't take this long to take a frecken advil!"

"God, you're so paranoid! You've already made us sit at the table closest to the door so you'd know when he comes out." Peyton complained, and took a sip from her water bottle. "Maybe he couldn't get his locker open or something, just chill Hales. Just because they're taking a long time doesn't mean there having sex in the janitors closet!"

"Oh my god, you don't actually think they are, do you?!"

"Kill me _now._" Peyton banged her head on the table.

xxxx

"Where's Brooke?" Nathan asked Riley, when he came to join Riley at the table he was sitting at.

"No idea. I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"Maybe she got tied up in class or something."

"Yeah, probably." Riley said and took a bite of his sandwich. "Oh, I forgot to tell you." He said with his mouth full, causing him to only be half comprehendible, and ending up with mayo all over his mouth. "You left-"

"Dude, thats gross." Nathan covered his eyes with his hand. "Close your mouth!"

Riley chewed the rest of the food that was in his mouth and swallowed. "You left your jacket over at our house." He said, and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "But, uh, you're gonna have to wait awhile before you get it back...I think Resse spilled something on it and-"

Running to their table came a panting Peyton Sawyer. "Hey you guys," She interrupted, and slid onto the bench Nathan was sitting on(which was attached to the table), causing his backpack to slide off of it. "Sorry to interrupt, but uh...there's a sort of a psychopath after me." Peyton said, and picked up Nathan's backpack off of the ground and attempted to hide behind it.

Riley raised an eyebrow. "A psychopath?"

"Mhm...Don't let the pom-pom's fool you. She's completely crazy." She explained, and took a look at the two, and realized they were a little weirded out and confussed... or, maybe... they were turned on, and had a weird way of showing it. But that seemed kind of unlikely... she decided that she was right the first time. "Oh, right, sorry." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Peyton."

"Riley." He said questioningly, and shook her hand. "And, uh, that's-"

"Peyton!" Haley yelled.

"Oh, god. She can see me!" Peyton screamed, and got up. "Nice talkin' to you!!" And she was off.

"Peyton! Don't pretend like you don't see me! Get back here!!" Haley yelled and ran after her, passed Nathan and Riley's table. They watched Haley chase after Peyton, and after they were gone, they sat in silence, bewildered.

"What the _hell_ just happened?!" Riley finally asked.

Nathan shook his head and let out a laugh. "You tell me."

**xxxx**

"What took you so long?!" Haley asked Lucas when he entered the gym for practice. "You weren't at any of lunch."

Lucas threw his basket ball from one hand to the next. "I was. I was with Tim and the rest of the guys. I even went to look for you to clear things up." He started to dribble the ball, and was about to aim for the basket. "And _you_ were know where to be found. So the question isn't, where was I, but where were you?" He shoots. And of course, Lucas Eugene Scott always scores. In more ways than one.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what you think it does." He answered and left, running across the gym, dribbling his ball.

Haley, on the other hand, just kind of stood there. How could he accuse her of that? She would never... well, maybe she would, or, er, maybe she has, but he doesn't know that. And either way, she didn't do anything today.

Peyton walked over to Haley, having just witnessing what just happened. And even though Peyton, like most people, wouldn't find this assumption offending at all, she knew that Haley did. Or maybe, it was a cry for attention. But either way, Haley was her best friend, and thats what best friends do. Help each other... or at least pretend that they care.

"So uh, um..." Peyton tried to figure out what to say.

"What's wrong with him!? He's supposed to be coming over here right now, asking me what wrong!" Haley bursted out. "And then, when he asks, I'm not supposed to answer. And when I don't answer, he's supposed to realize it was what he said, and apologize! Then we'd make up. That's how it's supposed to be!!" She wailed.

'_Oh, I was right. She did just want him to pay attention to her_.' Peyton thought in her mind. Except, after she thought about it, it was almost sad. I mean, Lucas does spend a lot of time with Haley, but it wasn't like before. He didn't care the same way. He didn't love her the same way. She was more of an obligation to him, not a desire. He tried his best not to let on, but Peyton noticed. And it broke her heart to see the once perfect couple like this... even if she wasn't all that crazy about Luke.

**Read and review!!! What'd you guys think? Oh, and I know that I said that Haley was going to be kinda like Peyton in the first season, and I've decided that she's going to have some qualities like her, but she's going to be quite different. But don't worry, I have some interesting stuff in store for Haley. **


	4. All you need is Vodka?

**What if?**

**Chapter Four: All you need is... Vodka?**

_By: Nowaytonowhere_

**Author's Note: Hey you guys! I actually wanted to add some more stuff in this chapter, but I don't have as much time to update, with school and all. But anyway, read and review! And remember: suggestions are always appreciated. **

"But Mom-" Brooke followed her mother's every move around the kitchen.

"Brooke, yours are half falling apart, and I'm not letting you wear Riley's again." Kate interrupted, and finished wiping down the kitchen counter, which had been formally covered with a sticky coat of orange juice.

She turned on the water faucet, rinsed the sponge, and covered her hands in Softsoap-Pure Cashmere. Which is, for most, the single best smelling soap in the world. She made her way out of the kitchen, paper towel in hand, and started climbing up the stairs with brooke; of course, leached on to her side.

"But, _I_ don't care! _You're_ the one that does! And they're _my_ shoes! _I'm_ the one that's going to be wearing them!" Brooke complained.

Kate turned around at the top of the staircase, fully faced her daughter, and stared straight into her eyes.

Brooke swolled. She knew that look... the fire in her eyes, the seriousness on her face. She hadn't gotten 'the look' from her mom in awhile, but never the less, she still knew it far too well.

Kate raised her voice slightly. "Brooke, don't argue with me." She strained, full on aggravated. "Now, I let you do stuff that I don't support 100, but I still let you do if you really want to. Am I right?"

"Yeah..."

"And I let little things slide that most people wouldn't, and I'm pretty fair with you for the most part. Right again?" She said, raising her voice slightly more.

"I guess..."

This time, Kate raised her voice yet again, but ten times louder, not to mention, angrier. "And, please, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you think I'm just a _little_ busy with you know, having to raise, clean up, look after, and cook for _five_ kids. So, I'm sorry if I find that there's more important issues regarding You, Riley, Michelle, Holly, Reese, and not to mention, myself and your father too. Because, you know, just in case you haven't noticed, you're father and I are people too. So, I dunno... you think that maybe, just maybe, I'm a little stressed, and I really don't have time to argue with you right now?!"

Brooke quickly looked down to her feet, avoiding any eye contact at all with her mother. "S-s-sorry Mom." She hesitated. " I... I didn't know."

Kate took a long look at her daughter, and the expression on her face. She then realized that Brooke was both scared out of her mind, and confused. Kate let out a deep sigh.

'_I shouldn't take all this out on Brooke. After all, she's not the one controlling any of this. Well, maybe if we're lucky there wont be a 'this'. Maybe everything will be fine, and I'm just over thinking things... Just because she always gets her self into trouble doesn't necessarily mean that history's going to repeat it's self. For all I know maybe she's coming back to announce something good..._' Kate went off into a world filled with her thoughts, and realized that her daughter was still standing there, looking just a tad bit weireded out. She figured she should say something.

"I know, Honey." She finally said, and took a breath, and calmed her self down. "Just... just, go buy the shoes Brooke. That's all I'm asking for."

**xxxx**

Riley and Holly had come down to the kitchen shortly after Brooke and Kate had left it. They both were sitting at the kitchen table, each eating a bowl or Fruity Pebbles, spoon at hand, trying to make out the conversation their mom and their sister just shared.

"What do you think happened?" Holly asked her older brother.

"I'm not sure... I would think it has something to do with shoes, but I don't think mom would get that mad about Brooke not wanting to go buy them."

"Oh, wait..." Holly signaled to Riley to be quite. "I think I hear foot steps!"

"Go cheak if its Brooke!"

"Okay!" Holly got up from her seat and made a gun with her hands, pretending to be a spy. She peered out of the room and tiptoed her way over to the staircase. The site of Holly doing so made Riley let out a small laugh. He thought it was cute how Holly got such a big kick out little stuff like this. He absolutely adored Holly. He completely enjoyed having a little sister like her... well, for the most part, anyway. Of course, he loved Brooke just as well, but he didn't think of her as a _little_ sister. I mean, what's 3 minutes? And then there's Michelle. Sure, he loved Michelle - she's his sister, but she was no Holly. Michelle's so... Well, Michelle. She has her moments here and there, but for the most part, he found her completely annoying. He figured that when she got older she was going to be either ten times worse, or ten times better. And even when Michelle was Holly's age, she was so obsessed with trying to be older than she was, so Riley and Michelle never really experienced that same bond.

But Holly on the other hand, adored Michelle. She wanted to be just like her. And, again, Riley loved Michelle to death, but he could definitely live without having a Mini-Me-Michelle around the house. But for now, all he could do was keep his fingers crossed. _Tightly_.

Holly came back running into the kitchen. "She's coming, she's coming!" She told her brother in excitement, jumping up and down. She sat her self back in her chair. "Um, uh... act normal! Just eat your cereal or something." She ordered Riley, with a huge grin bigger than face.

Riley obeyed his younger sister, which he found, just a little bit ironic.

Brooke walked into the kitchen, and grabbed her self a banana from the fruit basket, and peeled it.

"What was that about?" Riley asked Brooke, while she took the cutting board and started chopping up her banana into bite sized pieces.

"Yeah, mom sounded pretty mad." Holly said, clearly interested in knowing too.

"Shoes." Brooke flatly stated, and walked over to the table to grab the box of fruity pebbles for herself.

"That's it?" Riley asked, with a mix of disappointment and question in his voice.

"Yup, thats it." Brooke answered dryly after having poured the cereal in her bowl, and putting the pieces of bananas into it too. She then opened the fridge to get the milk, which wasn't there. "Hey, guys, where's the milk?" Brooke asked, still in search of it.

"Its over here." Answered Holly. "But wait. That's _it_? That's _all_?"

Brooke sat down and joined them, and poured her milk. "Mhm. That's it."

"Aw, I waited for that?" Holly was disappointed. "I thought it was going to be something good!" She said, and walked over to the sink, and put her bowl in it, and trotted out of the room.

"I love you too!" Brooke called out to her.

"Wait, so Mom actually got that mad at you that?" Riley questioned.

"Yeah, I thought it was kind of weird too. I wonder if something's up."

"Yeah, maybe." Riley stood up, and drank the rest of the milk out of his bowl. He smacked his lips together, and walked to the sink. "Mmm, fruitayyy."

Brooke made a ball out of her paper towel and threw it at him playfully. "You're so weird Riles."

He turned around and clutched his stomach with his hands, pretending to be hurt. "What did I ever do to you?" He looked at Brooke in a face full of pain. "What are you going to tell your little brother and sisters when they ask what happened to Riley? What are you going to tell the _police_?!" He asked dramatically, falling to the ground, ever so slowly, clutching his stomach even more intensely.

Brooke couldn't help but grin. She looked at Riley on the floor, and walked over to him. "Oh, cut it out." She told him, trying not to laugh, and gave him her hand to help him up.

"Aw, you're no fun." He gave Brooke an offended look. She slapped him playfully and rolled her eyes.

"Well," Riley looked down at his watch. "whatever, I gotta go anyway." He said, grabbed his keys, and made his way to the door,

"Wait, what?" Brooke trailed behind him. "No! You have to give me a ride to the mall!"

"You _attacked_ me. I'm your own flesh and blood! Not only am I related to you, but you're my twin. My _twin_! We have more of the same-

"Oh shut up, Riles. Seriously, though. Come on."

"No can do." Riley took his Dolce & Gabbana leather coat off the coat hanger. The coat was a gift from his girlfriend, excuse me - ex girlfriend, Autumn. All her clothes had to be designer, which meant that, of course, her boyfriend had to have at least one thing. This particular item was purchased at Saks for a mere $2,265.000. Or, 'mere' according to Autumn, anyway.

"I'm driving out to Charleston to see the game, remember?"

"Oh, I forgot about that... Oh, god. Aren't you going with Felix?" Brooke asked. "...Well, can't you just drop me off?"

"Brooke, it's in the other direction. I can't. Just ask Nathan or something."

Brooke groaned. "I can't _believe_ you're abandoning me for Felix."

"And I can't believe you tried to kill me." Riley grinned. "Anyway, I don't get why you hate him so much."

"Well, it's not like I hate him... He's just... weird. I mean, come on. Don't you think it's kind of creepy that when Michelle had a crush on him, and flirted with him-"

"Every time she saw him, that he flirted with her back?" Riley finished Brooke's complaint. "Yeah, Brooke, I know. I've heard this story literally a million times. But the thing is, you're just completely _insane_. He wasn't flirting with her. You just _think_ he was."

"But-"

Brooke was interrupted for the 50th time that morning, or so it seemed. "I'm not having this conversation with you _again_. And I really gotta go anyway." Riley told her, and opened the door and left.

Brooke stood there and sighed. "Great."

In no time, down came Michelle, still in her pajamas, beauty mask and all. "Are you about to go to the mall or something today? Isn't that where you're about to leave to?" She yawned. "That's what you and mom were arguing about, right?"

"Um, uh..." Brooke tried to think of a good excuse. Even though she was a horrible liar, and there's $40 in the pocket of her jeans that she was sure was at least half visible, there was no way she was taking Michelle to the mall with her. She crossed her fingers tight, and hoped that since Michelle's half asleep and all, wouldn't spot the money in her pocket.

"No, actually, I'm uh..." Brooke thought hard. "I'm on my way to Nathan's. I think we're gonna go to the... uh, book store or something."

"Oh." Michelle yawned again. "Figures." She said, and left Brooke standing alone in front of the the door again for the second time that day. She let go of her breath, and uncrossed her fingers. She'd made it.

Brooke took this opportunity to leave as quickly as possible. It's rare to be alone in that house, and she figured if she waited too long Michelle, or even anyone, would find out that she'd be going to the mall and leach on to her. On that note, she opened the door quickly, checked her pocket to see if the money was still there, grabbed her sweater, and shut the door.

She was out.

**xxxx**

Peyton walked down the street with the cool autumn breeze blowing in her hair. She looked around at her surroundings -- the fall leaves floating in the air, having just fallen off a branch, causing a mix of browns, reds, and oranges mixing into the scenery. She listened to the sound of the breeze passing by her ears, and the crackling of the leaves below her feet. She took in a breath of the Tree Hill air, and suddenly, everything just seemed so peaceful. It was just a late saturday morning stroll. There was no drama, no gossip, no heartbreaks. And even though she was surrounded by cars and other people; considering she was half way into a commercial district and all, she felt a soothing feeling of peace. As though she was alone.

That morning was pretty cool for a fall morning, the wind blowing in every which direction. Peyton had on her long coat, a cute little nit hat, scarf and all. Except -- no gloves. Her hands were freezing. She kept having to rub them together, and breathe on them, having taken the coat with no pockets.

Great.

Hah. Not.

Around the same time her fingers went completely numb, she was passing by Karen's Café... she could really use a cup of hot chocolate. She could practically feel the warmth of the air in the café, and taste the hot chocolate on the palate of her mouth. Looking into the window... it was so tempting, especially being on on a diet.

Oh, right.

_Diet_.

... But I mean, hey. She was Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer after all. She couldn't be left outside freezing to death... what would Tree Hill do without one of it's most prominent members of the 'A list'?

With that, Peyton twisted the knob on the door of the Café, and stepped in. She felt an instant feel of warmth come upon her.

Every time she went in there, Karen had always been so friendly towards her, and offered her a loving smile, even though she didn't know Peyton. There was just this homey feel about the place... even though she didn't know anyone who worked there personally, and only went there every now and then, Peyton never once took it for granted. This was the most homey place she'd ever felt outside of Haley's house. And even at Haley's, it's never been the same since, well... the accident.

"Well, if it isn't Peyton Sawyer." A voice said, coming from the right.

Peyton jumped... but then she realized who it was.

"Well, at first, obviously you startled me a little," Peyton said, and turned around. "assuming you just saw me jump... but then, i realized, only one person in this world has that annoying, intoxicating voice."

"Good morning to you too." Lucas took a sip of his coffee.

"So, do you come here and eat shamelessly all alone all the time? Because, you know, I'm sure no one in the right mind would actually be willing to sit through a meal with you."

"Oh right. Because that's exactly how you feel." Lucas said. "You know you just can't resist my charm."

"Oh, so thats what you call it?"

"Yup. And you just can't get enough of it."

"Please. Don't flatter your self."

"...Then what exactly is it that's keeping you around? Huh?"

Peyton opened her mouth to answer his question, but before the words could leave her mouth, Lucas' phone went off.

_'I treat you like a princess, but your life is just one big mess. When did your heart go missing? When did you heart go missing?' _

Lucas opened his phone to see who was calling... But he didn't have to. He knew perfectly well who was calling him, and Peyton was a smart girl. Maybe not the greatest academic student, but she could put two and two together. 'When Did Your Heart Go Missing' was an obvious choice of song to describe Haley and Luke's relationship. He may never admit, especially to Peyton, but they both knew it was. And just as quickly as he opened his phone, he closed it.

"... And that's why."

"That's why what?"

"That I'm taking time to talk to you. And don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, because we both know perfectly well who just called you."

"You know, maybe that's just my ring tone for everyone and --"

"Well, if it is, the way you claim, how would you know who were talking about Haley?"

"I never --"

"Luke, just shut up. You're really not that slick."

Lucas let out a long, bitter laugh. He rubbed his neck, getting extremely tired of Peyton's 'I know all' attitude. "Do I have a reason to have been awarded this wonderful bitching session of Peyton Sawyer? Because its been real fun and all, but as far as I can see there's really no point in this."

"There's a --"

"No Peyt, just stop." Lucas snapped, on a more serious note. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Lucas stood up from his table, threw the money he owed on top of it, and walked towards the door.

"Wait!" Peyton followed after lucas and grabbed his arm. "Just... just call her Luke."

He stood there... his back to Peyton. "What's the point?"

"Because all she want's is for you to pay attention to her!" Peyton cried. "And plus, you wrongfully accused her! When you couldn't find her, it was my fault. I went to the other side of the school, and she followed me."

Lucas turned around, just the way Peyton had earlier in the Café. "Peyt, you think I don't know that? You actually think that if I didn't know where she was I wouldn stop looking for her just like that?" Lucas questioned. "Haley... or the way she is now..." He tried to find the right words to describe what he was trying to say. "She's capable of doing anything. And I have no idea how she feel's about anything. And I'm pretty sure no one else does either, on account of her not letting anyone in. The point is..." He hesitated. "...is that because of that, something might happen to her.

"... Like what happened that night... with Ryan... but," Peyton paused. Was she really about to say this? She gaulped. "this time... wi-with her?"

"Yeah."

"Then if you know that she didn't do anything... why are you mad at her?"

"I'm not. I'm just tired of her accusing me of stuff like that. So i Guess i just did it back.

"I love Haley... and i Probably always will. But i don't know if i can do this anymore."

Peyton didn't know what to say... She didn't expect him to tell her all this. Why would he tell _her_, of all people? But after she thought about it, it almost made sence. All three of them had known each other since Elementary school. Haley had been in love with Lucas since the day she realized he didn't have cooties. Peyton, on the other hand, didn't like him since she was 5 years old. In kindergarden she had a crush on him, and he found out... and well, being the Cocky Lucas Scott he was; he always used it against her. But either way, it had always been the 3 of them. They were all linked to one another one way or another. And the fact was, whether Peyton and Lucas despised each other or not, they both did know a lot about each other, and always would.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer from Peyton, he finally turned around and left.

And Peyton just stood there, taking in all the information she had just obtained.

'_Woah.' _was all she could think. This was too much for her. She was only Peyton Sawyer. She was the girl that liked sex and vodka. That's all. Why would he dump all that on her?

And she never did get that hot chocolate. But she wasn't in the mood for it anymore. She too, following Lucas' lead fled to the door. Vodka sounded a lot better than hot chocolate now. _Much_ better.

Because everyone knows that vodka's what you drink to get a load off your back.

So much for a relaxing saturday morning.

**xxxx**

Brooke ran up to Nathan's front porch and knocked on the green, wooden door. He had a cute, little house from Brooke's prospective, but according to him, it was too 'cutsie'. Whatever the hell that means. Brooke loved his house... it was so cozy, and cute. '_ooo, those are pretty lilies.' _Brooke thought in her mind, and lead closer to the door to smell them but...

On the other side of the door, came Nathan, ready to let Brooke in. Brooke hadn't realized that Nathan was about to open the door. When he did, she completely lost balance, fell forward, directly on top of him.

Nathan chuckled. "I always knew you liked me." He said, his face less than an inch apart from Brooke's.

Brooke's cheeks instantly flushed a deep color of rose, and felt as though they were on fire. She was one of those people that got embarrassed much too easily... every little thing would cause her to turn as red as an apple. But today, and what Nathan had just said... seemed to have embarrassed her on a whole new level. It wasn't just that she made a stupid mistake, or was worried about what other people would think of her... it was all that and more. Ten times more. And Brooke couldn't figure out why. For Pete's sake! This is Nathan she embarrassed herself in front of! Why would that matter at all?

Finally, Brooke decided that she should say something that sounded just as cocky back, in attempt to burry just how embarrassed she felt. "Well, duh." Brooke decided that this would probably be a good time to get off her best friend... it was getting just a little too weird for her. She jumped up off Nathan and said, "I've been in love with you since I was like, eight! And you've obviously always loved me... but I would have to say, maybe about, ten times more? But thats not important."

Nathan tried to defend him self but before he could Brooke spoke again.

"And thats why you're so gladly taking me to the mall today!" Brooke announced, and grabbed his hand and pulled him up.


End file.
